Ryuuki Tide
by Red Shadows
Summary: Everything used to be normal. Well, as normal as it could get for InuYasha and the crew. Then they meet someone very strange. Someone with a very dark secret, and everything turns around. InuKag, MirSan.
1. Kagome's Return

Okay, you all know that I haven't written any stories on here yet. But that doesn't mean I haven't written before. Constructive criticism is very much welcome, flames are not. And for those of you wondering what the title means, it means Rising Tide. This chapter won't be the best, because I have trouble setting up stories, but they'll get better, I promise.

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own InuYasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters. And I'm a nice person, but am anti-character theft. So now you have it. On with the story instead of this pointless stuff._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Ryuuki Tide Chapter One: Kagome's Return 

"InuYasha! Sit, boy!" Kagome shouted, crossing her arms and watching as the prayer bead necklace around his neck pulled him forcefully down to the ground, resulting in a loud thud and loud cursing. She glared at him with chocolate brown eyes, currently as cold as the Antarctic. "I've told you before! I'm allowed to go home through the well when I want!" The fifteen year old narrowed her eyes. "And you're not going to stop me this time!"

"Yes, I am! You aren't going back to that modern era or whatever it is you called it!" InuYasha growled, pushing himself off the ground with both arms, then standing and approaching Kagome with murderous amber eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at her evilly.

"Just let her go, InuYasha. Kagome deserves a break from finding jewel shards once in a while," Miroku said, watching the whole affair from his place under a tree. Shaking his head, the monk sighed mentally. This was what they went through all the time whenever Kagome wanted to go home and visit her family. He figured InuYasha was just being selfish – why else would he keep Kagome here in the feudal era instead of letting her return to her rightful place? Miroku rested his forearms across his knees, watching the continued argument. Why InuYasha couldn't just lay off bossing Kagome around once in a while was beyond all of them.

"Sit!" Kagome roared, and turned away from the fallen hanyou, walking towards the Bone-Eaters' Well. _He's so jealous. He never lets me do anything without his permission! But I'll do without him. He really needs to learn a lesson! _Kagome thought vehemently, and grabbed her pale yellow backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. She ignored InuYasha, and looked past him to Miroku. "Bye, Miroku!" the girl called, and jumped over the edge of the well, disappearing into its depths. Sango was currently visiting her village, and Kagome had told her beforehand that she was returning to the present.

InuYasha ground his teeth together. _What does she think she's doing? She belongs here, not there! _The hanyou shook his head, and looked at Miroku, who was trying to hide a small grin.

"What's so funny, monk?" he demanded, turning burning eyes on the purple-robed Miroku.

"Nothing in particular. Though it is rather funny that you try to keep her from going home when all she has to do is 'sit' you and then you can't stop her," Miroku informed him wisely, letting the smile cross his face briefly.

"You think it's _funny? _I'll show you what's funny!"

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Kagome exhaled deeply, climbing out of the well. She stood there for a moment in the familiar shrine, and closed her eyes, breathing in the faintly musty air of the place. Opening them after about two long minutes, she looked around, taking in everything she had missed so much when she was in the feudal age. The dusty timber supporting the roof creaked softly as she pushed open the sliding doors to outside. The sight of her home filled her with the overwhelming desire to see her family again, and she shut the shrine doors, then launched herself across the yard and into the house.

"Mom! Grandpa! Souta! I'm home!" Kagome's clear voice rang through the building, and a wide grin split her face. It was good to be home. Her mother appeared from the kitchen, and smiled warmly at her daughter.

"Kagome! I've missed you," the woman wrapped her arms around Kagome, pulling her into a tight hug. Finally she let her daughter go, and held her at arm's length away, looking at her pale, beautiful face. She would always be beautiful. Perhaps it was just a mother's instinct that ordered her to believe Kagome was beautiful – but it was so very true. The teenage girl's high cheekbones and large, soulful brown eyes made her mother believe that she was perfection.

"Missed you too, Mom," Kagome murmured, and smiled brightly at her mother. "I probably smell _so _bad! I'm going to go have a bath, okay?" She gave her mom one more hug, then disappeared up the stairs and threw her backpack carelessly into her room before entering the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, and locked it, then looked at herself in the mirror. Deepest black hair framed her face, cascading down over her shoulders and to her waist. _My hair's sure grown since I started going back to the past. _The thought nudged itself into Kagome's mind, and she smiled at her reflection, and then turned to the bathtub, turning the taps all the way up. Watching the water crash down into the ivory coloured basin that happened to be the tub, she smiled, already loving being home. If InuYasha stayed away, it would be just perfect. It wasn't likely, but she could hope.

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A long while later, Kagome emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head like a turban, and another wrapped around her body. She was humming cheerily to herself as she walked down the hall to her room, and there was a distinctly self-satisfied note to it. She paused for a moment in the doorway, then shut the door and got dressed in a knee-length dark blue skirt and a cream coloured sweater. Coming out in a couple of minutes, she headed downstairs again, and stretched her arms.

"Hey Mom, where's Grandpa?" Kagome asked, cocking her head to one side. She could see her mother was about to answer when the sound of her grandfather's voice sounded beside her. "Grandpa!" she exclaimed, and bent slightly to embrace her grandpa in a tight hug. Releasing him again, she smiled cheerfully. This had to be one of the best days of her life. Free of InuYasha, free of looking for jewel shards, she had every intention of simply relaxing all day, then staying for a week or two to rid herself of the irritating hanyou.

"Missed you too, Kagome," the slightly creaky, rusted voice of her grandfather spoke, and he smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners with affection for his granddaughter. She was almost a foot taller than he was, but it didn't bother the old man.

"I take it Souta's in school. Buyo must be wandering around, huh?"

"Yes, he is," Kagome's mother smiled, then turned from the counter and gave the time-traveling girl a small plate of cookies with a biscuit on it as well. "Here you are, Kagome."

"Oh, wow! Thanks a bunch, Mom!" Kagome exclaimed, smiling, and took the plate, then looked at her family. "Well, I'm off. See you later," she announced, vanishing down the hall and into the living room. Setting the plate down on the small coffee table they had set up, she dropped down onto the tatami mat, and crossed her legs, taking a cookie and flicking the TV on with the remote. At the moment, all she wanted to do was kick back and enjoy the present and its conveniences. Flicking through the various television channels, she frowned, munching on the cookie. _There isn't even anything good on. Oh well…I suppose I'll just go call Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi and see what I've missed in school. Again._

This she did, dialing first Eri's number into the phone. The peppy, enthusiastic voice of her friend assaulted her ears as soon as she said her name.

"Kagome! Hey!"

"Hi, Eri. What did I-" she was cut off by Eri's next statement.

"How's it going with your boyfriend?"

"Oh…um…well, pretty good, I guess," Kagome smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, but wondered what she was going to have to say next – about school, Hojo, InuYasha. There was such a bombardment of questions that she laughed. "Woah, Eri, slow down! Can I borrow your notes again, by the way? And are there any tests coming up?"

Eri told her everything, and agreed to lend her the notes. It really had been an enjoyable conversation – but Kagome had forgotten about school while she was with InuYasha and the others. Now she was going to fail for sure! Naturally there were two tests coming up – algebra and history. Neither of which she had studied for!

Then there was a suspicious knocking on the glass of her window, and Kagome looked up. There was an all-too-familiar shape crouched there, staring at her intently.

InuYasha.

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I hope you all liked the chapter! Sorry it sucks, but it's hard setting up the first couple of chapters, I find. Anyway, this story has potential to become pretty good.

Shadows


	2. Ramen, and Differences of Opinion

_Okay, here is chapter two. Enjoy! And as I said in chapter one, I don't own the Inu crew. Also, take note of this: it refuses to make the chapter headings bold no matter what I try. So I fear they may not be bold and easy to find until I figure out how to get around it._

_Sena-Me-Duckie: Thank you so much for the review, and I'm glad you liked the chapter! This one should be kawaii too. Probably more so than the first one._

Chapter Two: Ramen, and Differences of Opinion 

"InuYasha!" Kagome forced the window open, and braced her hands on the windowsill, staring with eerie coldness at the hanyou. "What do you think you're doing here?" she snapped, clenching her right hand into a fist.

"I came to bring you back, of course," InuYasha answered, as if this was common knowledge and she should know it by now. Catching the look in her eyes, the hanyou twitched uneasily. There was an angry gleam in those eyes, and it occurred to him that he should definitely get out of the window. He did, pushing past her and standing in the middle of her room, where he was slightly safer, if only for the simple reason that she couldn't make him fall off the roof now.

"I just got here two hours ago! InuYasha, I have a right to see my family once in a while too, you know!" Kagome turned from the window, and folded her arms tightly across her chest, surveying InuYasha angrily. "And I needed to get supplies. So please, just go back down the well this time, all right?" her tone brooked no argument, and InuYasha almost did what she said.

Almost.

The half demon shook his head negatively, dog ears flattening against his head. His long, silvery white hair fell back into place again once he finished, and he stared at Kagome disbelievingly. He gave the impression that he had no idea what she had said, and needed her to repeat it. But Kagome didn't fall for it, he knew perfectly well what she had said and why.

"Kagome! Come back to my time, please! Get your supplies and we'll go," he said it in such a commanding tone that the miko could feel her anger rising.

"You don't even care what I think! All I am to you is a jewel shard detector!" Kagome spat out, and then strode determinedly towards the door, shoving InuYasha aside as she did so. Before she reached the portal, though, she felt a strong hand resting on her shoulder, keeping her from leaving. "What do you want? I'm not coming back, you know," she growled, not turning, and shrugging his hand off. But she didn't leave quite yet.

"Yes, you can see jewel shards…" InuYasha hesitated for a moment, and Kagome whirled around. Angry, hurt tears welled up in her chocolate-coloured eyes, and the hanyou knew instantly that he had made a mistake not finishing his sentence.

"See? That's all you care about! Hunting down the stupid jewel shards!" Kagome snapped, shoving him in the chest. She was surprisingly strong for a girl; he hadn't realized she could push that hard. InuYasha took a step backwards to right himself, and shook his head, flustered and searching for words.

"No, Kagome! That's not what I mean! It's just…just…I don't know!" InuYasha threw his hands up in the air, defeated, and looked away, hurt and sorry for what he had done to alienate her so. His canine ears drooped downwards slightly, and he shook his head fiercely, trying to clear his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kagome waiting impatiently. He'd never seen her this mad before except maybe once or twice, when he had insulted her and then stormed off in his anger.

"What don't you know?" Kagome demanded, tapping her foot on the floor. Her normally pale cheeks were flushed with anger, and she was barely holding back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks and fall onto her sweater. "That I'm not even that important? That I'm just disposable, like…like those ramen cups I give you?" she finished lamely, and bit her lip. "Is that what you think of me?"

"No!" InuYasha clenched his fist, then in one fluid motion turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. "You're way more important than that!" he cursed himself for sounding so pathetic. Looking into Kagome's eyes, he willed himself to communicate what he thought with his own. He was like a lovesick puppy – but he wasn't sure he loved her. He didn't think he did, he knew what it felt like. He'd felt love for Kikyou, and he still did. He let go of Kagome's shoulders, out of words. He turned his back to her and crossed his arms, thinking hard. "I don't know what to say!" he finally admitted defeat with those words, and cringed. How weak they sounded, after leading a life full of strong words, boasting and ruthless.

"InuYasha…" Kagome paused, waiting to get his attention. He angled an ear back at her, still turned away, but partly turned his head as well, without looking at her. "I'm sorry," she murmured quietly, and took the two short steps to her bed, then turned and sat down on it, hands folded in her lap. She looked at the carpeted floor between her feet, at the wall, anywhere but at the hanyou still standing in the middle of her room. "But I really needed to get away from your world for awhile. Just a little while."

"I know…hey, do you have any ramen?" InuYasha's sudden change of tone made her look up in amazement. Ramen? Now? After they had just fought? The hopeful look on his face made her laugh, choking slightly on the lump in her throat. Why he wanted ramen right at this moment, she supposed she would never know. Maybe it was the fact that he was a die-hard ramen addict ever since she had brought some back to the feudal era.

"Yes," she replied, and shook her head. What a strange hanyou she had chosen to become acquainted with! Standing up, she sighed mentally. Her holiday wasn't going to be InuYasha-free after all. Chances were also good that she would have to return sooner than she had intended. "One question first. Why did you follow me back here?" she looked at him curiously, cocking her head.

"To bring you back, like I said," InuYasha shrugged, then looked at her expectantly, clearly wanting his ramen.

"So I see. And for ramen, no doubt. All right, follow me," Kagome headed out of her room with the hungry dog demon following her closely. She went downstairs, and into the kitchen, then set about making InuYasha his instant noodles. The entire time he hung over her shoulder, and she finally looked at him flatly. "You don't have to stay three inches behind me the whole time!" she pointed out, rolling her eyes. "Take it out when it beeps. And _don't _smash the microwave, all right?"

"All right," InuYasha agreed, then stopped her when she was about to go out. "How do I make it give me my noodles?" he asked, staring at her with inquiring amber eyes. He still had so much to learn about her world, it was absolutely hilarious every time he came here. Kagome resisted the urge not to laugh at him.

"Press this button here, and take out the noodles. Okay?" Kagome smiled, then left him to the mercy of the microwave. Or maybe she had left the hapless microwave to _his _mercy, one of them, at any rate.

InuYasha waited impatiently for the microwave to beep. Watching the digital numbers count down the time, he drummed his fingers on the countertop and sighed. So much for 'instant' noodles!

"Come on, hurry up!" he told it, then as the timer hit zero, the beep sounded, and InuYasha pressed the button to open it. As the microwave door opened, he snatched the ramen cup out, and smirked. "Ha. Gotcha!" he proclaimed his victory, then almost dropped it as some of the hot water splashed over his hands. "Ow!" he started cursing under his breath, and set the ramen down on the counter. "Kagome!" he yelled, hoping to get her attention quickly.

Kagome shuddered, hearing him calling for her. Tentatively she headed back to the kitchen, and looked at InuYasha with a look reminiscent of someone who very much fears for the sanity of someone else.

"Um…yes, InuYasha?"

"I think your noodle-maker is possessed by Naraku! It burned me!" InuYasha exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the microwave. Kagome sighed and shook her head.

"It's not possessed. You probably just got hot water on you. Here, let me see." Without giving the hanyou an option, she strode over to him and held his burned hand in one of her own. "See? That's what happened, you just burned yourself."

Kagome pulled him over to the sink, and turned on the cold water tap, then made him hold his hand under it. Leaving him there, she went back to the microwave and closed the appliance's door. Looking over at the victimized hanyou who was currently glaring evilly at the ramen cup, she rolled her eyes and pressed her hand helplessly to her forehead.

"I still think it's possessed," InuYasha volunteered suddenly, pulling his hand out from under the stream of water and turning it off, surprisingly on the first try. "Is it ready to eat yet?" he asked, trotting over and looking at the ramen. Kagome pushed him sideways.

"Stop standing over my shoulder, will you? It's annoying. And yes, now it's ready," Kagome picked up the ramen and presented it to the hanyou, who took it. Now he waited for a pair of chopsticks to eat it with. Supplying them, the miko watched him wolf down the ramen in record time. "You ate that awfully fast," she remarked dryly, and got a confused glance back. "And before you ask, you aren't getting any more. Plus, it wouldn't kill you to go back to the feudal era."

"I'm _not _going back without you coming back with me!" InuYasha shot back, going on the defensive again. He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, as if daring her to try and make him go. "We can't find the jewel shards without you. Come on, let's go back now!" he exclaimed, completely insistent on the matter. It was clear that he wasn't about to go back without her coming along to hunt down jewel shards. Kagome barely held back a scream of frustration with him. This issue had been bothering her for a while now – especially since he followed her into her own time to drag her back to his.

She shook her head, and glared at him.

"No, InuYasha. I'm going to stay here for at least two days. And I want to go back to school for a day or two," Kagome stated firmly, placing her hands on her hips and giving him a stare that was as stubborn as his own. Neither one of them was going to give in.

"Fine. Then so am I," InuYasha declared, then a suspicious look passed over his face. "Hey Kagome…"

"What now?" By now Kagome was growing tired of his insisting demands. She cast him a painfully tolerant glance and waited for him to make his case. Soon enough it came, as she had suspected – and once again had to do with modern technology.

"Can you show me how to use that box thing with the black screen in your room?"

"Fine…follow me, InuYasha."

Yet another task had assigned itself to Kagome's care – the issue of teaching InuYasha to use a computer without breaking it.

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This chapter was sort of comic relief – even if we didn't need it. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and chapter three might take a little while longer than this one did to come.


	3. Shards and Suspicions

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Rumiko Takahashi's characters, the Shikon jewel, etc. But I do own the new character that pops up.   
Chapter Three: Shards and Suspicions 

"Kagome…hurry up!" InuYasha sat cross-legged on Kagome's bed, watching her pack her things. He exhaled strongly, and shook his head. "You take way too long," he complained, turning his head and watching her go to the other side of her room, fetching some more stuff that was largely unknown to him. It was true – girls took forever to pack. At least this one did! He had been sitting here for ten minutes, and considered that too long to have to wait to get back home to the feudal era.

"You've been here for three days, you can last a few minutes longer. Don't be so impatient," Kagome scolded him, then looked around her room and sighed. She had only been able to get to school once, since it was only Monday, and she had gotten home just an hour ago. "And if you don't shut up about it I _will_ say it!" she growled, putting the last of her things in her backpack. "All I need now is the medicine, and don't say you won't need it."

With that the miko headed out of her room and to the bathroom, yellow backpack in tow. She began talking to herself, and put several items of medicine in the bag – aspirin, antacid, as well as several other things in that line.

"There. That should be all we need," Kagome completed her packing, and looked at InuYasha, who was hovering by the door watching her expectantly. "We can go."

"Finally!" the hanyou exclaimed, and vanished down the stairs. He reached the well long before Kagome did, and stood by it waiting for her. He was extremely impatient to get back to his friends and his own time; all the modern technology confused him. When Kagome came through the shrine doors, he rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough, didn't it?"

"I could have taken longer," Kagome shot back, and without another word set her hand on the wooden side of the well and sprang over the edge, dropping down through the air and soon reappearing on the other side. She climbed up the side, and heaved herself over the side onto solid ground again. Sometimes it got a little tiring having to climb out of the Bone-Eater's Well every time she went home, but that was the consequence of being able to use the Shikon jewel shards to go through the well. She looked around. "Sango, Miroku, Shippo!" she called, standing on the other side of the wall and glancing around curiously. Why wasn't there anyone there?

"Hey Kagome," Sango's voice called, and she materialized from in the trees, walking towards her friend. Dressed in the deep pink and pale rose kimono overlaid with her green skirt, with her dark hair tied back in its customary way, she seemed to look oddly even more pretty than normal. Then Kagome noticed that she had decided to put a flower behind her ear. That was what was causing it.

"Sango! How was your trip to the village?" Kagome smiled warmly at her friend, and dropped her backpack on the ground by the well. She noticed vaguely that the taijiya wasn't carrying Hiraikotsu, but that wasn't too unusual, for being around the well. Chances were good she had it not too far away, or with Kirara. Pushing her dark bangs back from her eyes, she suddenly paused, looking around with wide brown eyes. "I sense a jewel shard nearby!"

"Already?" Sango stared at her friend incredulously. It was unusual to have a shard so close, so soon. She turned, and walked away, then came back wielding Hiraikotsu and in her battle uniform. Her long hair was pulled back into the high ponytail she wore for battle, and the ends trailed down her back almost to her waist. Kirara padded by her side, in her large form.

Kagome nodded decidedly, then InuYasha came up through the well behind her, and she turned her head slightly to look at him, raising a brow.

"You took awhile. But InuYasha…I sense a Shikon shard," the miko looked at him seriously, then back to Sango with a thoughtful expression in her eyes. She knew that they needed the jewel shard if they were to defeat Naraku – but there was something weird about this one. Something very weird, and it wasn't good. There wasn't a sense of pure evil coming from it, nor the purity of the shard struggling to get free of the demonic creature that hosted it, as sometimes happened. This time it was different. Something highly unnatural…and it was sinister. The look in her eyes betrayed this train of thought; then she spoke. "Where's Miroku?"

"He's coming. I told him," Sango offered, and smiled slightly. "Where do you sense the jewel shard, Kagome?"

Kagome looked around, searching for the faint pulsing, dark aura that gave away the location of the shards every time. Detecting it, she pointed west, then heard InuYasha's gruff voice behind her, and sighed, turning her head to look at him, waiting for whatever it was he had to say.

"I don't smell any demons nearby."

"Just because there's a shard doesn't mean it has to be a demon, InuYasha," Kagome pointed out dryly. She shook her head, then, seeing as Sango had mounted Kirara already, climbed on behind her after grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. The great catlike creature pushed off with all four legs, and soon they were in the air, InuYasha following from below. They passed over Miroku, who took up the chase as well, and Sango spoke without turning her head to look at the one she was talking to.

"Kagome, are we much closer to the shard?" the taijiya called, feeling Kirara's powerful muscles bunch together and stretch out again as she leapt forward through the air. The flames that glowed around Kirara's paws flickered and were blown back in the wind created by her passage through the atmosphere.

"We're almost there," Kagome answered, looking around for the pinkish glow that signaled the presence of a Shikon shard. She trained her eyes downward, and there was the glow; harbored in a fairly ordinary-looking person that was walking along the dusty brown road. "Down there!" she exclaimed, pointing to the location of the shard. Sango turned Kirara in the right direction, and in seconds they had made a graceful landing in front of what appeared to be a ninja girl. With a jewel shard embedded in her left arm.

Sango hefted Hiraikotsu over her shoulder, watching the ninja suspiciously. Her deep brown eyes, constantly alert, were fixed on the other, scanning her. The demon exterminator heard the sound of running feet behind her, but didn't turn, knowing it was InuYasha and Miroku catching up to them. The sound died away, and the red-clad hanyou stepped forward beside her, already holding his Tetsusaiga.

"Who are you?" InuYasha demanded without hesitation, and the girl stopped, regarding him with cool, coppery eyes. This gave him cause to be uneasy, not many simply stood there without backing up when he presented them with his accusing, harsh voice. But this ninja was different. She barely moved – which instantly set him on guard.

"It's in her arm," Kagome whispered, sliding off Kirara's back, and standing next to her friends. The strange youth looked over each of them carefully, and Kagome noticed the icy cunning behind those eyes. This was not someone to be trusted – even less so because of the shard.

"My name is Kaiyo," the teenager before them spoke in a quiet voice – but it wasn't a peaceful, harmless one. Below the surface of her voice rustled untold secrets, unfathomable darkness – and no peace of mind. It seemed she had potential to give them serious trouble, if she so wished. The girl finally moved, pushing the light rust scarf she wore back over her shoulder. "And I would suggest letting me pass."

"What? Not without that jewel shard!" InuYasha exclaimed, staring with obvious dislike at the stranger who called herself Kaiyo. He could see fire spark in her eyes, and was amazed when she walked straight up to him, and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring up at him.

"You aren't getting it, and before you ask I am not one of Naraku's incarnations. I hate him. Now move!" Kaiyo growled, planting her feet in the dirt and staring uncompromisingly up into InuYasha's amber eyes. She wasn't particularly tall – the top of her head came to InuYasha's nose – but it appeared she had plenty of fire to make up for it. Losing all patience with the way he simply stood there, not answering her, the ninja uncrossed her arms, and shoved the hanyou aside before continuing her journey in long strides past him. She didn't stop even when he spoke again, continuing to walk away.

"Wait!" Kagome shouted, running after Kaiyo despite the others' protests. Catching up, she seized the other's shoulder to get her to pay attention to what she had to say. Looking at her with big, earnest eyes, Kagome released the ninja's shoulder and stood in front of her, willing her not to leave. "We need the shards," she finished, and noted the other's sarcastic eye roll with irritation.

"We all need the shards! You can do without one of them," Kaiyo snapped, but didn't keep walking, suspecting Kagome would just stop her again. She crossed her arms over her chest, and shifted most of her weight onto one foot. "And does the fact that you need the shards mean that I _don't? _Does it? Tell me!" she fixed Kagome with an icy russet glare and let her black hair fall over her eyes. The ends of the ties for her deep yellow and white headband floated slightly on the gentle breeze, and she dropped her arms to her sides, fists clenching and a black light rising up behind her eyes.

"No, that's not what I mean. But we do need them," Kagome mumbled, slightly frightened by Kaiyo's aggressive behaviour. She could see InuYasha coming up behind the ninja, footsteps silent as a cat's. Then he had the strange girl's shoulder tight in his clawed hands. She definitely wouldn't be going anywhere fast if he decided not to let go.

"Let go of me." The voice was not a request; it was an order. Kaiyo turned her head slowly to stare at InuYasha, burning eyes fixing on his face with a terrifying anger. _"Now!" _she snapped, and in seconds she had three hand claws gripped in her left hand between long fingers, resting on InuYasha's hand threateningly. She clenched her free hand into a fist.

"Not until I get that jewel shard in your arm," InuYasha growled back, tightening his hold on her shoulder, and looked at her. _Another corrupt one who just wants to keep the Shikon shards for herself. _He thought in disgust, and then caught a glimpse of growing rage in Kaiyo's eyes. "Just give us the shard and we'll leave you alone."

"No. Let go of me," Kaiyo repeated, shoving the hand claws back into the sash around her waist before finally grabbing the hanyou's fingers and twisting them off her shoulder. Kagome had vanished from in front of her, and she could hear her speaking with the taijiya. She looked at the ground, bangs hiding her eyes. A wave of crimson anger was spreading across her cheeks, and she finally turned around again. Only to be greeted with the Tetsusaiga pointed at her heart. "Go right ahead. I won't be missing anything."

"If you want me to," InuYasha said mockingly, smirking in the way he had when he was about to make some great victory over a demon. His amber eyes glinted with lust for blood – and jewel shards. Before hearing Miroku's voice behind him, he had pressed the demon fang sword against Kaiyo's chest, right above her heart. "Give me the Shikon shard."

"InuYasha, maybe there's a specific reason _why _she won't give us the jewel shard. Don't be so rash."

Kaiyo turned away, but stopped again, twitching with irritation, when she felt the Tetsusaiga rest on her shoulder, the blade already sinking into her skin. Blood welled up and trickled down her bare arm to the elbow-length black glove she wore. She gave no reaction.

The monk walked in front of Kaiyo and looked at her thoughtfully, then an all too familiar light came into his eyes, and he took her hands in his own.

"Will you bear my child?"

The ninja stared at Miroku in astonishment, then pulled her hands out of his grasp and slapped him across the face, leaving a red handprint where she had struck him.

"Hell no! Filthy lecher!"

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And there is the end of the chapter. Hope you liked it (I got writer's block at the end x.x) but the next chapter should be better! Anyway…to all those of you who have read this far and liked it, thank you! And review, as always


	4. Three Days' Notice

Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed! You know who you are :) Anyway…everyone who's this far should know that I don't own InuYasha or the gang. Kaiyo be mine. XD! On with the story!

**Chapter Four: Three Days' Notice**

"Get out of my face already!" Kaiyo snapped, dodging away from the strike InuYasha aimed at her with the Tetsusaiga, and bounding away, vanishing into the trees. Her footsteps were nearly silent, and very soon her scent was gone as well. She was fast – much too fast for a normal human.

"Damn it!" InuYasha swore, and shoved the Tetsusaiga angrily back in its sheathe. He looked at Kagome, who appeared to be thinking. She didn't seem to be remorseful that they hadn't gotten the shard, either, merely puzzled. "What are you thinking?" he asked suspiciously, casting the miko a sideways glance of unease.

"Oh…nothing in particular," Kagome murmured absentmindedly, though it was obviously a lie. Now, why would Kagome be lying to him? There had to be a reason, she usually didn't unless it was really important and she didn't want to lose her train of thought. Then she came out of her trance, and turned to InuYasha, shaking her long black hair over her shoulders. "What's making me wonder is that you didn't just attack her to get the shard. Why?" she cocked her head inquisitively.

Sango looked at Miroku, beginning to wonder where this conversation was going. It had been bothering her too. The monk shrugged, and she caught his gaze lecherously wandering to her rear. Hand twitching with the desire to slap him, the taijiya shook her head, and climbed onto Kirara's back, then interrupted the conversation between InuYasha and Kagome.

"Kagome, can you still sense the jewel shard?"

"Nope," Kagome said negatively, shaking her head, "I can't." InuYasha hadn't answered, so she took his silence to mean that there was no reason why he hadn't attacked the ninja instantly. Chances were, he would never tell them, and she would be left in the dark. Again.

"Well then let's get going and find another shard!" InuYasha burst out, and looked at them. "Before we all rot here," he rolled his amber eyes, clearly impatient to get away and go hunt down more Shikon shards. The wind was picking up, now there was a rather unnerving whisper of it in the leaves of the trees. Something was far too strange, though – there was no birdsong anymore. Then a flash of pale bluish-silver flashed past them, and InuYasha whipped the Tetsusaiga out of the black sheathe. "Get back, Kagome." He fixed his eyes on the arrow-like thing that was now slowed in front of them, raising a crimson-eyed head.

One of Kikyou's soul collectors. It coiled gracefully around the air, morbidly beautiful. Its sleek head lifted as a soft whizzing sound split the air, and Kagome cried out, sinking to the ground. Her hand clutched her shoulder, where a blossom of deep scarlet was blooming on her white shirt.

Kikyou herself emerged from the trees, and turned cold brown eyes upon InuYasha. Eyes that had grown hard and icy from living her half -life, no longer holding the love they once had for her hanyou lover. She lowered her longbow, and held it in one hand by her side. Finally, Kagome had a chance to die!

"Kikyou? What are you doing here?" InuYasha demanded, and looked at Sango. "Sango, help Kagome!" he ordered, and returned his burning amber gaze to the dead priestess before him. No longer did she radiate purity, like she had when she was alive. Now it was the aura of the earth, of hate and deception. Yet he still loved her.

Kagome flinched as Sango gently set her hand on her friend's wound. The long, slender arrow, with its feathered notch, quivered as she shook with the fire that pulsed in agonizing waves down her arm. She didn't look up; knowing already that it was Kikyou who had shot the arrow. But she did turn her head slightly to look at Sango, meeting the other's worried eyes with her own.

"Sango…I'm fine…" she whispered, then forced herself to sit upright, and she let go of her shoulder to look at the bloodstains on her fingers. She could feel the blood running down her back in small rivulets, and then InuYasha's angry voice slashed the silence.

"Get out of here!" InuYasha shouted, pointing the Tetsusaiga aggressively at the former miko. She had never been so bold as to actually shoot her reincarnation before – but there was a first time for everything. The sight of her arrow leveling with his heart stopped him from attacking outright, though. He remembered too well the burn of the sacred arrow that had pinned him to the sacred tree for fifty years, and had no wish to repeat it.

Kagome sank down again, eyes fluttering shut as she let her consciousness slip into darkness.

Kikyou said nothing, but lowered her bow for a second time, and turned, walking away without a word. No trace of remorse hung after her, she was thoroughly satisfied with what she had done. Until she felt a small blade dig deep into her back between the shoulder blades. She stopped for a moment - and continued walking. There seemed to be no way to kill her no matter what they did. But it was a mystery as to who had thrown the blade. A second one whistled by InuYasha's face, leaving a deep cut where it caught him. The now blood-coated weapon dropped to the ground about ten feet away, having struck its target and therefore slowed momentum. The sound of running feet was heard, before fading again.

"What the hell!" InuYasha swore, ignoring the wound in his cheek, then sheathed the Tetsusaiga and turned to Kagome, crouching beside her. "Kagome! Are you all right?" he asked anxiously. Her eyes were closed, and her head was on Sango's lap. The demon exterminator looked at InuYasha.

"She's unconscious." Sango murmured softly, looking down at Kagome, then Miroku squatted down next to them as well. By now all of them were there. "Kirara!" Sango called, and pushed Miroku away to make room for the big cat. "We have to get her to Kaede's. You two get going." She ordered, and picked Kagome up gently, then set her on Kirara's back, and swung herself up behind her, arms around the injured girl's waist to keep her on Kirara's back.

After about fifteen minutes of flying – and Miroku and InuYasha running below – the group was at Kaede's.

"Hey old woman! Kagome needs help!" InuYasha shouted brazenly, and soon the elderly miko approached them from behind her hut, holding a small bundle of herbs.

"Does she? Bring her inside."

Miroku carried the injured Kagome into Kaede's home, and lay her down on the straw tatami mat. An ominous thud sounded from outside, and all of them looked up warily.

There was a sword coming through the wall. And on it was a message.

_'You have three days.'_

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_What a boring chapter. Anyway, I hope you liked it, sorry it's so short, and reviews, please! The next chapter should be better – and longer. And sorry I took awhile to update, it's been a busy week. Next one should be up by Friday afternoon if all goes well._


	5. Mysterious Complications

Chapter Five: Mysterious Complications 

Kagome lay on her back on the blanket Kaede had laid out for her. The arrow had gone deep into her flesh, and was in itself a fairly bad wound – but she should not be out this long because of it alone. Visions of arrows clouded her dreams, and bursts of fire and crimson exploded through her unconscious mind; Kikyou's reincarnation turned her head restlessly. She could hear muffled voices talking not far away, it felt like she was in a glass box and there were people talking outside of it. Well…a glass box that stabbed agony through her with every beat of her heart.

"It should not be this serious. I fear for Kagome's life." Kaede murmured gravely, looking over at the sleeping Kagome with worried eyes. Returning her gaze back to the hanyou, houshi, and taijiya before her, she frowned.

"How bad is it, Kaede? Why isn't she getting any better?" Sango voiced her question tentatively, long-fingered hands folded in her lap. Her chocolate gaze kept returning to her friend, and with difficulty she forced her eyes to return to the old priestess' face, willing herself not to look at Kagome. She had never seen anything of this nature happen before; it was so strange.

"I do not know, child. InuYasha, Miroku…" the two turned towards Kaede attentively, InuYasha with cocked ears, "Please go. We must check on Kagome." Her serious voice gave them both the hint that whatever had gone wrong with Kagome, was very serious. InuYasha and Miroku looked at each other, then without a word left the miko's hut.

Sango frowned, looking at Kaede with a concerned look on her face.

"Kaede…what's wrong with her?" she asked softly, looking away from the old woman and glancing down to her friend.

"It has spread," Kaede whispered; voice suddenly sounding strangely old and frail, "And I fear I do not know why."

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Blood seeped through the bandages on Kagome's shoulder, and as Sango and Kaede worked, as fast and thoroughly as they could, it also came through the gauze on her side and ribs. She mumbled constantly in her sleep, as new wounds continued to open, ones that hadn't been there before. Finally new ones stopped appearing, but that didn't mean that the two women's work was done. Scarlet continually stained her bandages, and finally Sango and Kaede resorted to pressing down on the wounds in an effort to stop the bleeding.

Finally their efforts paid off, and Kagome's wounds stopped bleeding. Her breathing was shallow and quick, though, so they had to keep a close watch on her. From a simple arrow wound had bloomed many small cuts, and three or four major gashes. InuYasha and Miroku were again sitting on the floor in Kaede's hut, casting an occasional concerned, quiet glance over to the still unconscious Kagome.

"What happened to her?" InuYasha finally ventured to ask, breaking the uncomfortable, worried silence with his voice. His amber gaze flicked to Kaede inquiringly, and he kept it steady. Refusing to let his eyes drift back over to Kagome, he waited for her reply, almost dreading it. But he had to ask. Secretly, his worry for the teenage miko was driving him mad, and he didn't want to go another minute without knowing something of what was happening.

"We do not know, InuYasha. If you wish to help her, then pray that she heals quickly and well." Kaede said quietly, sitting on the oak wood floor and resting her old, slightly wrinkled hands in her lap. Her grey hair, tied back in its customary fashion, shifted, and then settled back into place as she shook her head. The black eye patch over her right eye helped to conceal what she was feeling, but to all of them it was clear that she worried about Kagome as much as they did, perhaps even more. Since she was a kind of descendant of the old woman, they figured she had a right to.

This comment by the elderly miko cast the room into silence again. It was a heavy silence, the type you could cut with a sharp knife, and also the kind that was hard to break. Within the soundlessness lurked the immense concern for the fifteen year old girl's health. The sense of pain and unhappiness dwelt heavily on all of them, preventing everyone from speaking.

Finally a motion disturbed the extremely uncomfortable stillness. It was Miroku, rising from his place on the floor. He looked around at them all with grave violet eyes, and walked over to the sword that they had removed from the wall. It lay apart from everything else, on a small, rickety table that hardly deserved the title. He picked up the note that had been attached to it. _'You have three days.' _Three days for what? They didn't even know the sender of the note, so they couldn't for the life of Kagome figure out what it meant.

"Have any of you got any notion of what this might mean?" Miroku asked, trying to disband the uneasiness that hung over their heads like rain clouds. He held up the note, and turned his head to look at them with a subtle trace of inquiry in his eyes. Walking back to them, he sank down onto the boards and crossed his legs, setting the parchment down on the floor in the middle of the semi-circle.

"If we had any idea, monk, we would have told you." InuYasha pointed out dryly, folding his arms across his chest and looking thoughtfully at the scrap of tattered parchment. Twitching his canine ears, he looked down at the ground in front of him, thinking hard. No ideas came to mind, and he started to wonder whether this was some kind of death threat towards one of them. Or all of them; perhaps the appearance of new wounds on Kagome symbolized someone's revenge towards them. Yet why would they bother with the virtually harmless miko instead of trying to take out InuYasha, the strongest of the group and definitely the most aggressive and vengeful? No, it just didn't make any sense.

"Maybe," Sango paused, and then continued, stroking Kirara's cream-coloured head thoughtfully, "Maybe it's from Naraku. You know he wants us all dead for taking out Goshinki and some of his other incarnations. Sesshoumaru isn't the type to send a note warning us beforehand, he just shows up when he feels like it. What do you think?"

"Perhaps. But Naraku, too, merely tries to kill us just whenever he has the time, it seems." Miroku added, and sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm going to go meditate. Maybe that will help me figure this out." He murmured, and stood, exiting the hut and leaving Kaede, InuYasha, Sango, and Kagome.

"Or maybe it's from that ninja." InuYasha growled, a note of clear dislike in his already harsh voice. He looked up, and the dark cut on his cheek was briefly visible, a dark line across his cheekbone, before it moved back into shadow, hidden once again. "I'm thinking she's one of Naraku's incarnations. Maybe not. But she smelled like evil." He returned his gaze to Sango, eyes flashing in the candlelight. "Next time we see her…I'm going to kill her."

"Oh? You are, are you?"

All three conscious ones looked up to see the silhouette of the ninja in the doorway, ends of her scarf fluttering in the breeze.

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_Ah, another short chappy. But I like it much better than the last, and sorry it took so darn long to update! Next one will be up on Wednesday. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and keep reading. By the way: Shippou is not in this story 'cause he never does anything in my fics. So review, and keep reading!_


	6. Ninja's Honour

Um, yeah…it's been awhile, admittedly. I'm sorry! I'll try to update more often from now on.

Chapter Six: Ninja's Honour 

"I don't think so," the ninja said quietly, a dark smile flitting briefly across her mouth. She stood with crossed arms, and InuYasha lunged to his feet, drawing the Tetsusaiga.

"You! I should have known!" the hanyou growled, springing towards her. She moved fleetly to one side, easily avoiding the attack. InuYasha narrowed his eyes, and tightened his grip on the sword, standing in the doorway so that she couldn't get back into Kaede's home. He fixed his cold gaze on her, trying to figure out how to take her down if he couldn't even catch her, let alone kill her. Nothing came to him, so he slashed at her again, anger obvious.

"So you should have." Again she dodged his attack, leaping nimbly into a tree and crouching there. The hand claws appeared between her curled fingers, but she didn't throw them. Yet. "Don't waste your time, you aren't going to catch me," she remarked dryly, jumping to a higher branch and looking down at InuYasha derisively. A soft laugh escaped her. Yes, he should have known and just killed her then, but something inside had forbidden him to. Now he regretted it – she was twenty feet away and he couldn't kill her! And if she was in league with Naraku, or one of their other enemies…it could mean serious trouble.

"Why don't you just get out of here? Why the hell are you hanging around!" he demanded harshly, flattening his ears and springing up towards her, trying to strike her with the Tetsusaiga. He was quick, and nearly got her; but once again she bounded out of range and stood on a tree branch, one hand on the trunk of the huge oak. He could see those infuriatingly coy russet eyes glinting in the dying sunlight. She was outlined in gold by the setting sun, and since he was looking directly into the light, she was somewhat hard to see. Hearing a soft rustle behind him, InuYasha turned his head, and in that instant the sound of a blade flying through the air was heard. A split second later a fiery pain shot up his arm, and he turned back, cursing himself for being so stupid. Jerking the blade out of his arm, he threw it to the ground, and noticed that there were only two claws left in her hand. So she had thrown one of her valuable weapons away. All the better for him, then.

"You still don't understand what the note means? Pity, pity…" Kaiyo smiled infuriatingly, and raised her hand, the silver claws gleaming in the deep light. "Obviously you're as stupid as you are violent. Three days, remember!" Turning, the ninja bounded out of the tree, and slipped into the shadows, only a faint rustling belying her presence there, and even that soon faded into silence. InuYasha was left standing alone in the twilight, Tetsusaiga held in his hand, the gentle wind rustling the gilded leaves around him. Yet still there was a presence of evil, a lingering sense that set his nerves on fire and made him uncharacteristically wary. Turning his head at the crack of a twig, the hanyou expected Kaiyo's form to leap out at him with glinting blades. She didn't, but there was a raven watching him from a branch not far away. Growling to himself, he stalked back into Kaede's hut, and dropped down on the floor.

"I hate that ninja." He muttered, glaring at the floor, then his expression softened as he looked back to the unconscious Kagome. Her eyes wandered restlessly beneath her eyelids as if she were having a bad dream in which she could not escape a monster of shadows that pursued her.

"We know," Sango replied flatly, her humour obviously worn thin from worrying about Kagome. They lapsed into silence for a number of hours, each one thinking his or her own separate thoughts with essentially the same expression on their faces – concern.

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Kaiyo strode beneath the overhanging branches of the trees, ducking her head slightly to avoid being struck in the eye with a sharp twig. She halted beneath an ancient tree, its branches impaling the blackened sky around it. There was an aroma of death and decay hanging around the tree, but she seemed not to notice. Instead, she almost seemed to relish the scent, closing her russet eyes and shaking her short dark hair back out of her eyes. Laying her hand upon the gnarled, old bark, she took a deep breath, then tilted her head back and allowed a long sigh of breath to escape her. A ghostly black, wolfish figure slipped into the clearing, drawing itself upright, and then the two turned to face each other, and melted together into one, their forms merging into the shape of a raven with crimson eyes and breast. The raven screamed, then lunged into the sky and vanished.

_I'm sorry it's such a short chapter! But I figured I owed you something after waiting so long. Next one ought to be longer, though. _


	7. Cry of the Raven

I want to say a _huge _thank-you to iGoGhost91 for all the reviews! Thanks a million, Ghost:) And it's 'cause of you I actually wrote this chapter. This one's for you. Enjoy! Oh, and once again I don't own the Inu crew, cool as they are. Also, Kaiyo is a significant character in this story. Don't ask me to kill her off. Chapter Seven: Cry of the Raven 

Kagome suddenly sat bolt upright, fists clenched at her sides. Just moments ago, she had been deeply asleep, completely unconscious, now pain stabbed through her in scalding bolts. She gripped the thin white sheet that had been lying over her in both hands, trying to numb the pain, and finally cried out, sinking back onto the tatami and quivering. She felt unbearably hot; her blood seared through her veins ceaselessly in a scorching river. Sighing softly, she turned her head, only to see InuYasha watching her with a slightly stunned expression.

"Inu…Yasha?" Kagome looked at him with her dark chocolate eyes. "How bad…is the fever? I want…to get up," she mumbled, in broken sentences. Her cheeks were flushed deep crimson with fever, and InuYasha came over, sitting on his knees beside her. He had a concerned expression on his face, and opened his mouth to say something. Kagome shook her head weakly and half-raised her hand to silence him. "That girl…Kaiyo…" with the ninja's name, the miko sank back into unconsciousness, twitching and turning towards InuYasha with a soft moan, presumably of discomfort or unhappiness.

InuYasha frowned, and watched her sleep, then padded outside and leapt into his favourite tree. Crossing his arms and legs, he leaned against the trunk, and stared up at the moon, its bright silver seeming to taunt him for his near-loss – that of Kagome. The pocks in its surface seemed to flash like the blades of Kaiyo, hurtling towards him at blinding speed as if to slash his eyes out. There was no hand claw, no dagger, however, just the whispering of the breeze in the trees. Sighing, the hanyou looked back towards the house and shook his head, ears twitching. There was something distinctly unnatural about Kaiyo – her personality did not concern him, many had the same essential traits of aggressiveness and secrecy, but even something in her smell. That of earth, of death and betrayal, loyalty and lies, all combined into one strange scent. It confused him. No. It _enraged _him. The ninja was far from demon, but also not human. Nowhere near human; she had too many abilities – running as fast as he did, for example. With these thoughts raging through his mind, disturbing his peace, he at last sank into sleep.

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Easing the heavy weapon across her shoulders, Sango let Hiraikotsu fall into its place on her back, and stroked Kirara's back as the demon cat stood beside her. Her fingers laced deep into the thick cream-coloured fur, and she restlessly scratched her companion's shoulders.

"Kirara…what do I do?" she asked softly, sinking down onto the lush grass and wrapping her arms around Kirara as she shrank and hopped into Sango's embrace. The taijiya stared into the darkness of the shadows, and closed her deep brown eyes. Then a warning hiss from Kirara and a burst of flame as the catlike creature grew large again, then jumped to her feet beside Sango. The demon-slayer sprang to her own feet immediately, gathering her hair into a high ponytail and diving behind a tree to change into her battle uniform, and then emerging with Hiraikotsu in hand. "Who's there? I'll fight you!" she called, nerves singing with tension, and braced her arm for throwing the massive weight of Hiraikotsu.

Kaiyo dropped down in front of Sango, and eyed her speculatively. She had no weapons on hand that the brunette could see, but did have a cunning, calculating look in her eyes that the taijiya did not like at all. Lifting one slender, black-gloved hand in front of her face, she looked at the slightly gleaming black fabric, then dropped her arm.

"Hello, taijiya…you're surprised to see me, aren't you? You shouldn't be," Kaiyo murmured casually, watching Kirara. "Have any of you figured out what you have three days to do, yet?" Sango's gaze hardened, her brown eyes staring Kaiyo down, and the ninja smiled coolly, unfazed. "I guess not. I'll give you a hint: look to the skies. It might help you find the answer you're looking for," she dipped her head, jerked her chin towards the sky, and disappeared into the trees, leaving Sango alone once again.

She frowned, and her brows knit together slightly as she thought hard, racking her brain and trying to find the meaning of the strange girl's words. What was 'look to the skies' supposed to mean, anyway? It had had some cryptic emotion behind it, perhaps mocking scorn; perhaps it was even supposed to help them somehow. Her heart suddenly thundered as the harsh cry of a raven shattered her thoughts, and she looked up abruptly. This may have been what the stranger's hint meant. The black form of the bird, silhouetted against the sun, displayed an unusual characteristic – it had a bright crimson breast. Sango blinked, thinking she was hallucinating, but the red mark was still there, and it deeply concerned her. At last the creature had disappeared high into the sky, streaking across the forest, and the taijiya patted Kirara's shoulder reassuringly, retrieving her clothes and pulling them on, then replacing Hiraikotsu on her back. "What does she mean, Kirara? How can we figure it out?" whispering the helpless words, a cringe tightened her delicate features. Slipping onto Kirara's back, she gripped the soft fur between her shoulder blades, and the great cat lunged into the sky. With a harsh, throat-scratching growl as a warning to potential attackers, Kirara galloped across the atmosphere, her flaming paws leaving no tracks in the sky. A brief surge of happiness overwhelmed Sango, the exhilaration of flight. Not everyone got to ride a cat demon through the skies, then plunge into the grass near Kaede's hut afterwards. In just moments she undertook the latter of the two joys, and her sandaled feet pressed into the grass, leaving faint imprints that disappeared as the wind ruffled the stalks of green. Her stride lengthening as she approached the hut, Sango automatically adjusted her shoulder as Kirara landed upon it in her small form, then walked through the door of the hut. "I met the ninja," she commented, and dropped to the floor next to Kagome's tatami. "She said to look to the skies. What that meant, I'm not entirely sure. But once she said it, a raven with a red breast flew over me. Miroku? You're a monk; does that tell you anything?"

Miroku shook his head negatively, and frowned.

"I'm afraid not. It seems we need more clues…but we don't know what."

"Quit being so philosophical, houshi-sama," InuYasha cut in, his voice tinged with annoyance, then looked back to Kagome and sighed. How were they going to save her?

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So here's chapter seven! I hope you enjoyed it, and the next one ought to be up in about a week. :)


	8. Conviction

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! A big thanks to those of you that reviewed, it gives me determination to write more even if I do have a bad case of writer's block. Read it, and review, yay!

Chapter Eight: Conviction 

Kagome's chocolate eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly. Her mind reeled, and then fixed on one thought only – she had to meet someone. She did not know whom, but the importance of it seared away all logic, making her wounded body rise painlessly from the smooth straw mat, and take the few strides it took to cross the threshold. Of only this one thing was she sure, the urge to follow the inhuman voice whispering in her mind to find this unknown person was overwhelming. And so the young miko found herself obeying its sinister cry, walking through the woods with a curious sense of painlessness. She should be in burning agony with her wounds crying for salvation – but she was not. All of this made weirdly perfect sense to her cold mind, and so she did not question the orders she was being given. Every stride carried her closer to her destination, black locks floated around her head eerily, lifted off her shoulders through some unknown force. At last she halted before one large tree, and a great raven with a red breast dove down, lighting upon her wrist even as she extended it out.

"Welcome, Kagome. I have been waiting for you, my dear…" the raven cawed softly, and lifted off her shoulder, beating its wings slowly and leading the fifteen year old into a hollow in the ancient tree. Its trunk was nearly thirteen feet wide, a colossal being that had stood through many centuries. The crimson-breasted raven led her into this gap in the huge trunk, and perched on a sword blade that projected from the shadowed wall. "Do you know why you are here?"

The miko shook her head ever so slightly, and on instinct sat down, her hands resting upon her knees with heels tucked beneath her. Nothing about this was in the least confusing; not in her altered state of consciousness. In fact, what was strangest was that she felt nothing, yet everything; magic sang through her blood and made her heart leap with ecstasy. But still a dead feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, and at last her sluggish mind started to rouse against this weird meeting. "Why am I here? Who are you?"

"You don't need to know who I am, that isn't important. Kagome, you're here because I have something that I need done. Will you give me the jewel shards?" The raven stared at her with fathomless eyes, giving an imitation of a kindly grandfather as it spoke. However, the dark smile of evil was in its voice, a soft whisper to give it away.

"I can't…Inu…Yasha needs them…" Kagome looked up at the raven when it nudged her cheek with one huge wing. She bit her lip, consciousness gradually coming back to her and with it, the realization that this was not where she was supposed to be. Evidently the creature's hypnosis could not last for long.

"Don't you understand? Dear child…InuYasha thinks of you only as a jewel detector, nothing more. Imagine what we could do with those shards…there would be no evil left in the land. Selfish demons like him would be gone and they couldn't hurt girls like you…nothing bad would ever happen again. Doesn't that sound nice, Kagome?" the raven hopped to a lower branch and caressed her face with its wing, using the other for balance. The indecision was still written on her face. It had to convince her.

"W-well yes…but I don't want him to be hurt. He's…a good person," the miko looked away, tears starting to run down her cheeks. "I don't want there to be anymore evil looking for the jewel shards, but not all demons are bad. I don't want them all…to die."

"Kagome, Kagome…he doesn't care about you. Think only of yourself. What do _you _want?" the bird cawed, then its head lifted when the gentle crunch of dry leaves underfoot alerted it to someone else's presence. "Give me the shards, Kagome…I promise I won't hurt your friends."

Kagome hesitated, then dropped the bottle of shards upon the ground, and silently walked away.

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Kaiyo smiled at the raven, crouching down to pick up the shards. She tossed them up and down, catching the small glass vial again in one hand. Her russet eyes flashed a hint of cunning, and she played catch with herself, tossing the bottle from hand to hand.

"Good work, Mashi. There's more to do, though," she murmured, and looked up at the tree, shoving the shards into the cloth belt at her waist. Grabbing the rough bark, she started to climb, and soon was gone. Mashi lit off the branch, and flew after her, cawing proudly before it suddenly released a piercing shriek and dropped like a stone, hitting the ground motionless. Blood swelled on its breast like a crimson flower, and soon the ninja had landed on her feet, crouching by the corpse of the raven. She pulled the lifeless body to herself with one arm, drawing her hand claws with the other just as a tall, silver-haired form appeared in the suddenly misty trees.

"_Sesshoumaru."_

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The end of chapter 8! And so I leave you with another cliffhanger. I'll make a longer chapter next time, or try to, but no promises. Hope you liked it!


	9. The Slain

Chapter Nine: The Slain 

The dead raven was held close to the ninja's side for a moment before she lay him in the tall grass at the base of the tree and turned to face the intruder. Blazing rust orbs glared hostilely at the dog demon, and she slid hand claws between the fingers on one hand, drawing a short sword with the other. "Get away from here!" she snarled, but received only a grim raise of one brow before Sesshoumaru's poison whip flicked over one of her shoulders. The burning sensation in her chest was slightly overwhelming, but she stood her ground and stared with fury at him.

"Calm down, girl. You cannot fight if you are angry," Sesshoumaru stated calmly, standing just in the shadow of some overhanging branches. The long, brilliant green whip flashed past Kaiyo's head again, and she hissed, remaining motionless even as he carelessly flicked the whip around her.

"You killed Mashi! What am I supposed to be, you bastard demon!?" she growled, hurling a claw at him. The demon easily sidestepped, with a cold smile on his face.

"You've got a pretty big mouth on you, ninja. Why don't you close it and fight instead of crying to me about the death of your little bird?" The words were mocking, and at last cold anger won out. Kaiyo rushed forward in a blur of black and brown, a dancing storm of flashing blades and whirling ties. She attacked viciously, fury evident in every movement she made, yet still she fought with the skill of a trained assassin. However, Sesshoumaru was faster, and dodged all the blows she swung at him with a cruel smile on his face. "You'll have to be faster than that if you expect to hit me, human," he moved to the side and watched her flash past, then spin around and come at him again. "Repetition, repetition…do something different. Surprise me!" he exclaimed, sounding more like a fencing teacher than a demon opponent. She did do something different. She sprang into a tree, dropped down over him, and was immediately suspended in the air, crouching in a halo of darkness. She smiled chillingly at him, black hair falling over her eyes and giving a still more demonic look. The mockery faded from his face, and he almost took a step back in surprise. "What are you?"

"Dead!" Kaiyo crowed, and grinned, spinning her arms together and sending a ball of the darkness straight towards Sesshoumaru. It hit him dead on, making him stagger back. Bringing out his poison whip, the demon slashed at her, and hit, but it seemingly had no effect. A long gash in the cloth over her stomach showed a tattoo, and then she tore the bottom half of the ripped cloth away, revealing the shape of a black dragon swallowing a fiery orb. "You want me to do something different? I will!" Drawing a blade of darkness from the halo around her, she hurled it at Sesshoumaru, but he jumped back, not to be fooled twice.

"So…you are like Kikyou. Then who is the one who killed _you?"_ Sesshoumaru inquired with a grim smile. She responded in kind.

"You are."

"What? I don't recall slaying one with your particular face."

"Don't you?" Kaiyo smiled, and her form shimmered, becoming one of a girl with long black hair in a waist-length braid. Jet bangs framed her face, and deep green, cat-slit eyes stared at him, accompanied by a chilling smile. The flash of recognition on his face made her grin, and she dropped to the ground on hands and knees, walking over and slamming him into a tree with inhuman strength. "You deserve to die the same way I did. You should be glad I'm merciful."

With this acid comment, she stabbed her sword through his shoulder into the tree, effectively pinning him, and whirled, striding into the trees as her appearance went back to that of the ninja.

Sesshoumaru stared after her.

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This chapter is short, I know, but is intended only to give you a little insight into who Kaiyo is. I intentionally focused it on her. Review, please, and I'll update faster! I want _five _reviews before I update. Got it?


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